Are the tournament teams real people or is the whole game computer controlled?

I’ve wondered the same thing many times during the tournament. I believe that people in individual teams are real, but the tournaments I find that there are always several “players“ who will be about five points behind me, and they never pass. One game would be all it would take. It’s like a tease for me to keep playing and watch ads, purchase more coins etc

The chat among members seems real. And the game company benefits from engaging real people in tournaments.

I was being chased by "latasha.' She was merely 15 points behind my 415. I stopped playing and came back the next day, excited to see how far ahead she would be. She hadn't passed me, in fact, none of the players chasing me had. Latasha? She was way down, at just 250 points. Clearly there are bots.